A journey through time and around the world to uncover water's true nature, and how it can help us adapt to climate change.

A journey through time and around the world to uncover water's true nature, and how it can help us adapt to climate change. Trouble with water – increasingly frequent, extreme floods and droughts – is one of the first obvious signs of climate change. Meanwhile, urban sprawl, industrial agriculture and engineered water infrastructure are making things worse. As our control attempts fail, we are forced to recognize an eternal truth: sooner or later, water always wins. Award-winning science journalist Erica Gies follows water 'detectives' as they search for clues to water's past and present. Their tools: cutting-edge science and research into historical ecology, animal life, and earlier human practices. Their discoveries: a deeper understanding of what water wants and how accommodating nature can protect us and other species. Modern civilizations tend to speed water away. We have forgotten that it must flex with the rhythms of the earth, and that only collaboration with nature will allow us to forge a more resilient future.

"A gripping investigation into water and the champion sleuths who research it and engage in daunting yet necessary efforts to restore health to a damaged planet" - Booklist

"[One of] the best science books coming your way in 2022" - New Scientist

"An inspiring, insightful book about the myriad ways that 'water detectives' are helping water to heal the planet" - Foreword

"Gies proposes a new path... "Slow Water" is an approach that works with local landscapes, climates and cultures, rather than trying to dominate or change them" - Geographical